Sodexo Named as one of Top 50 Companies for Exec. Women by National Association for Female Executives

March 15, 2011

Winners Far Outpacing Fortune 500 in Advancement of Women

GAITHERSBURG, MD, (March 15, 2011) – Sodexo, Inc. has been named to the 2011 NAFE Top 50 Companies and 10 Nonprofits for Executive Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE). The list recognizes organizations whose policies and practices encourage women's advancement and whose numbers at the highest levels of leadership demonstrate that commitment.

Sodexo's initiatives to promote gender equality in the workplace have had tremendous results, including a 76 percent increase in the number of women in executive and senior leadership positions from 2006 to 2010. Despite reduced management hiring in the last fiscal year, hiring of women has continued to grow. Today more than 45 percent of Sodexo's managers are women.

"It is not enough finding and inviting women to have a seat at the table. The only way to leverage a commitment to diversity and inclusion into competitive advantage is by making sure that their ideas are encouraged, heard, respected and integrated into the strategy," said George Chavel, president and CEO of Sodexo, Inc.

This year marks an important milestone: at the 2011 NAFE Top Companies, women executives run 23 percent of operations that generate more than $1 billion in revenue. "Women have long struggled to reach the highest ranks in a male-dominated business environment, but with the growing profitability of companies with women in the top ranks, that is changing," declares Dr. Betty Spence, NAFE president. "Today, employers reward the skills that women bring and demand them of men, as well."

NAFE will honor each of the Top Companies at a gala luncheon at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on March 30. Prior to the luncheon, senior women executives who have profit and loss responsibilities at the NAFE Top Companies will meet at the closed door NAFE Roundtable to discuss critical business issues. A report will be published in NAFE magazine.

Methodology: The 2011 NAFE Top Companies application includes 225 questions on such topics as female representation, hiring, attrition and promotion rates; access and usage of key retention and advancement programs such as mentoring, executive coaching, networking and sponsorship; company culture; and manager training and accountability. The application draws particular attention to the number of women at the highest ranks and those with profit-and-loss responsibility. To be considered for the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women, companies must have a minimum of two women on their board of directors as well as at least 500 employees in the U.S.

About NAFE
The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), founded in 1972, serves 20,000 members nationwide with networking, tools and solutions to strengthen and grow their careers and businesses. NAFE magazine publishes the annual Top Companies issue and the annual Women of Excellence issue. NAFE.com provides up-to-date information, community for women in business and access to member benefits. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media and Bonnier Corporation.

About Bonnier Corp.
Bonnier Corp. (www.bonniercorp.com) is one of the largest consumer-publishing groups in America and is the leading media company serving passionate, highly engaged audiences, through 50 special-interest magazines and related multimedia projects and events. Bonnier Corp. is the U.S. division of the Bonnier Group (www.bonnier.com), a 200-year-old, family-owned media group based in Sweden with business operations in 25 countries.

About Sodexo

Sodexo in North America Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On Site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $15 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo is the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo's 380,000 employees, in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled range of On-site Service Solutions and Motivation Solutions. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates and to the fulfillment of its employees.